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Back Shelf Beauties
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Stay Ewan McGregor stars as Sam - a psychologist asked to fill in for a colleague who is going through a rough time. One of her patients, Henry (Ryan Gosling), is a very troubled young man who has decided to commit suicide on his 21st birthday, which is just a few days away. Sam desperately wants to help the young man, but the situation grows more complicated as the doctor digs deeper and deeper into the case, and starts to have odd experiences that don't make sense, and begin to creep us out. Can Sam help Henry? What's happening to Sam? Stay is almost a good movie, but the ending left something to be desired. Director Marc Forster does a wonderful job building the tension and making each successive scene a little weirder, but writer David Benioff doesn't give him and the cast quite enough to shock us and keep the audience fully engaged throughout the entire film. Too many lulls slow down the film and give us too much of a chance to get grounded back into reality as we wait for the next creepy occurrence or unexplained coincidence. Yes, Benioff and Forster reel us in and keep the audience on its toes as we wade deeper and deeper into this intriguing mystery, but more mystery done in a less subdued manner would have kicked the film up a notch. Luckily, the cast is able to make up for some of the Stay's shortcomings. Gosling and McGregor are strong as Gosling is very good as the creepy dangerous kid who is nuts, and McGregor is the straight-laced, do-gooder questioning his own actions and abilities as the situation gets more out of hand by the moment. Gosling brings purpose to Henry, and an eerie calm that makes you believe this character means business as he plots his own death. Meanwhile, McGregor is the guy who gets to become all disconcerted as he tries to unravel the mystery. I especially liked the way McGregor plays Sam in his relationship with Lila (Naomi Watts) - a former patient who has become his girlfriend. He adds just a little guilt and a whole lot of fear about the relationship as he knows how unethical it all is, and wonders if she will revert to her destructive behavior some time in the future. Sadly, Watts is under used and wasted. She just plays "the girlfriend" and doesn't have any major challenges. It's a role far beneath her and one that could have been filled by just about any ambitious soap opera star or pretty waitress/actress in Hollywood. Once she signed on for the part, Benioff should have gone back to the script and beefed up her part. More Naomi = More Waffles, no matter how bad the movie might be (let that be a suggestion to Peter Jackson as he edits her next movie, King Kong). Ultimately, Stay will be judged on its ending. While I get it, it's not quite clear enough to make you think you have the definitive answer as you leave the theater. Sometimes, that can be cool (and many will argue that is what will make them like the movie even more), but I want the answer here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stayed until the end. 2 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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